Coronavirus: Law360 Fri Jun 26 Briefing
From Media & Entertainment
Friday, June 26, 2020
TOP NEWS
Firms Tread Carefully Amid California’s Staggered Reopening
California is gradually lifting COVID-19 restrictions on a county-by-county basis, leading firms like Hueston Hennigan to eschew a one-size-fits-all approach in bringing personnel back to the office and other firms to hold off on any reopenings.
DOL Says COVID Leave OK If Virus Sinks Kids’ Summer Plans
Workers can take federal coronavirus leave to care for kids if the pandemic disrupted a demonstrable “plan” to send them to summer camp even if they weren’t enrolled when the virus hit, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday in one of two new COVID-19 guidance letters.
Coronavirus: How Law Firms Are Handling The Downturn
UPDATED June 25, 2020, 12:44 PM EDT | The spreading coronavirus pandemic has upended the legal industry, forcing firms to cut salaries, lay off attorneys and make changes to summer associate programs. Here is a roundup of how law firms are responding.
Minnesota Might Allow Law Grads To Bypass Bar Exam
The Minnesota Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it may allow recent law school graduates to forgo the bar exam during the COVID-19 health emergency and said it will take public comments on the idea over the next few weeks.
Lawmakers Urge Courts To Keep Streaming After COVID-19
Lawmakers and witnesses at a House hearing Thursday urged courts to stream their proceedings permanently, drawing a slightly positive reaction from a key judge who focused on getting new jurists to handle a case backlog.
State Court Corporate Cases Dip Amid COVID-19
State court caseloads dropped sharply when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and governments shut down in April and May, although the types of cases that tend to involve corporations saw smaller decreases, according to Lex Machina data released Thursday.
200 In-House Attys Urge Congress To Up Legal Aid Funding
Corporate attorneys at roughly 200 organizations, including Amazon.com Inc., General Motors, 3M and PepsiCo Inc., have signed a letter to Congress in support of increased funding for the Legal Services Corporation, the country’s largest funder of civil legal aid, saying those services are especially important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CLOSINGS AND RESTRICTIONS
Coronavirus: The Latest Court Closures And Restrictions
UPDATED June 26, 2020, 1:57 PM EDT | As courts across the country take measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, some are restricting access and altering their procedures. Here is a roundup of changes.
Coronavirus: The Latest EU Court Closures And Restrictions
UPDATED June 26, 2020, 11:06 AM GMT | As courts across the region take measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, some are restricting access and altering their procedures. Here is a roundup of changes.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR ATTORNEYS
Coronavirus Litigation: The Week In Review
McDonald’s has been ordered to give its workers more virus protections, airlines are seeking to escape claims that they owe refunds to passengers for canceled flights, and minor league baseball teams are among the latest to say they were wrongfully denied insurance coverage for coronavirus-related losses.
Coronavirus Q&A: Fox Rothschild Real Estate Leader
In this edition of Coronavirus Q&A, one of Fox Rothschild LLP’s real estate leaders discussed new ways force majeure clauses are being written and the ways leases and loan documents are being amended amid the pandemic.
Dead People Got $1.4B In Stimulus Pay Due To Legal Finding
A legal interpretation offered by the Internal Revenue Service helped lead the federal government to send $1.4 billion worth of pandemic-related stimulus payments to people who have died, according to a government watchdog report published Thursday.
Chief SDNY Judge Says Drug Cos. Ready For Remote IP Trial
A top New York federal judge said Thursday that drugmakers Ferring and Serenity are ready to start a full-scale online patent trial in early July, saying that while the pioneering case will be “a little weird,” it’ll set an important example from a court that leads the nation in commercial litigation.
Pandemic Can’t Save Unconstitutional ACA, High Court Hears
Democrats are making irrelevant points about the coronavirus pandemic driving up demand for health care to make the U.S. Supreme Court squeamish about a constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act, Republican state attorneys general told the high court on Thursday.
LA County’s COVID-19 Contact Tracing Order Stands For Now
A California federal judge denied a bid to temporarily restrain Los Angeles County from its COVID-19 contact tracing plan, ruling Thursday that a county resident and a Beverly Hills sushi restaurant challenging the plan are unlikely to succeed on their First and Fourth Amendment claims.
OSHA And CDC Issue Virus Guidance For Seafood Processors
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday issued a blueprint on how seafood processors should operate as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, detailing how employers should screen, separate and protect onshore and offshore workers.
Biz Backers Plan Push For Tax Aid On Virus Tests, Upgrades
Business advocates are mounting a push on Capitol Hill to include new tax incentives to cover the costs of coronavirus testing and equipment and office upgrades in the next legislative package aimed at easing the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout.
Carnival Hit With Suit Over Passengers’ COVID-19 Exposure
Holland America and parent company Carnival are accused of exposing more than 1,000 cruise ship passengers to COVID-19 on a vessel that sailed out of Argentina in March, according to a proposed class action filed in Seattle federal court.
EXPERT ANALYSIS
An Employer’s Guide To ADA Obligations During COVID-19
As worker failure-to-accommodate claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act proliferate during the pandemic, Natalia Delaune and Efrat Schulman at Jones Day provide practical guidance on compliance and employee screening.
10 Key Considerations For Commercial Leases After COVID-19
Negotiating commercial leases after COVID-19 will require careful attention to many issues arising from both landlords’ and tenants’ new priorities, as well as government regulations, say Cynthia Keliher and Jonathan Pizarro-Ross at McCarter & English.
